I Can't Do This...

At some point during our childhood, we’ve all been told that we can be anything we want to be when we grow up. But you need to put in the work and push through obstacles to achieve greater things. Today we hear from Gilbert Diaz, a Teaching Assistant at NSS, about facing failure, taking responsibility for your own future, and overcoming challenges. 
–The NSS Team

During the course of my life, I heard people say to others, “Don’t let people tell you what you can or cannot achieve in life.” Sometimes that is the case, but not in mine. I spent most of my years doing ordinary things. Nothing wrong with that, but the reality was that I was avoiding challenges and commitments. I didn’t want anything that potentially could put me in the position to face some kind of failure. I just wanted to earn my living each day, in an honest way of course. Without knowing it, I became my own obstacle to living life.

The first challenge that I accepted was to go into military service at 37 years of age. During my years in the service, I learned that no one is going to do the duty assigned to me. The military service taught me that I’m responsible for each decision I make and that each decision will set the course for the rest of my life.

At this point on my life, I’m now open to learn new things and to push through the challenges. I’m proud to have finished a Bachelor and a Master degree. I’m also learning how to become a professional software developer at Nashville Software School while delivering knowledge to students as a Teaching Assistant. The situation I am in today is the result of my decisions in the past. I had to decide if I wanted to listen to what others said, or better yet, what I was thinking about myself. Where I’m going now depends on the decisions I’m going to make today. No challenge is too big or impossible to conquer. I’m surrounding myself with the right people and making the decision to push through my own challenges.

The message I want to pass along to you is clear and simple in words, but really difficult to accomplish. Make the decision today to take ownership of your own challenges. Challenges are different for every person; so don’t compare yourself to others. Conquer your challenges one step at the time and don’t lose sight of what’s at the top of your staircase. Most importantly, enjoy what life has to offer.